BoxRec

I think the biggest I can think of is lewis v Ruddock, surely there must be more featuring 2 big names ( am thinking more modern era ish )

not massive names at the time but benn v Watson probably the best commonwealth fight ive seen

Anthony Joshua vs Gary Cornish

Lionel Rose v Alan Rudkin in 1969 was for the world bantamweight title and the Commonwealth title, slightly oddly. Finnegan v Conteh in 1974 for British, Commonwealth and EBU was pretty big.

But it is hard to think of a massive fight where only the Commonwealth title was at stake though. In terms of press coverage, Benn v Watson may be the most well known, although in terms of audience I suspect some of the ones held in Africa would have been pretty huge.

On June 13, 1931, Canada's Larry Gains KO’d Phil Scott in front of 30,000 fans at the Tigers Rugby Stadium in Leicester to win the British Empire heavyweight title, and nine months later, in his second defense -- against South Africa’s Don McCorkindale at Royal Albert Hall in London -- Gains' trainer, Jack Goodwin, collapsed and died from a heart attack at the end of the 13th round ...

Back in the days of Woodcock and Mills when it was the old "Empire" title, they would have had huge numbers down at White City and Wembley.

Cooper and Bugner was pretty big at the time.

Some big non British names have fought for the title(s) - Azumah Nelson, Dick Tiger, Berbick

Some big names have been eligible but never fought for it - McCallum, Jeff Harding etc.

Billy Joe Saunders vs Chris Eubanks JR that was a pretty big fight!

The biggest Commonwealth title travesty of the 1960s and '70s was George Chuvalo being ducked by Henry Cooper, Jack Bodell and Danny McLinden. Cooper even admitted in his biography he wanted nothing to do with the Canadian heavyweight champ.

writehooks wrote:The biggest Commonwealth title travesty of the 1960s and '70s was George Chuvalo being ducked by Henry Cooper, Jack Bodell and Danny McLinden. Cooper even admitted in his biography he wanted nothing to do with the Canadian heavyweight champ.

Funny that he would be scared of Chuvalo and not one of the greatest fighters that ever lived weird?

Rexob wrote:Billy Joe Saunders vs Chris Eubanks JR that was a pretty big fight!

What a fight involving an 18 fight novice who'd never fought anyone remotely close to world class?

writehooks wrote:The biggest Commonwealth title travesty of the 1960s and '70s was George Chuvalo being ducked by Henry Cooper, Jack Bodell and Danny McLinden. Cooper even admitted in his biography he wanted nothing to do with the Canadian heavyweight champ.

I agree about Chuvalo being shut out of the commonwealth title scene, a travesty. I think that would of been a big fight. Don't know what the reasons were but I'm sure Jim Wicks had something to do with it.

AlFrancis wrote:

Rexob wrote:Billy Joe Saunders vs Chris Eubanks JR that was a pretty big fight!

What a fight involving an 18 fight novice who'd never fought anyone remotely close to world class?

It was a big fight in the build then taking part in the Excel arena that held about 18 thousand people, along with the British and European titles up for grabs and was by far the best fight of the show so YES! it was a big fight for an 18 fight novice lucky boy.

Going back a long way but the Peter Jackson Paddy Slavin fight was for the Commonwealth title. It was the first time a Commonwealth heavyweight champion was crowned, a pretty big deal back then.